Invitation

Someone recently pointed out that there are over 300 people on the
tuning list, most of whom have never posted.

I would like to issue an explicit invitation for everyone who has not
done so to introduce themselves.

Please realize that those of us who DO post frequently may not be
holders of wonderful musical pedigrees. I, for example, have almost no
formal musical training (I dropped out of lessons as a kid and again in
college) and don't have a clue what at least half the posts here are
about. Some digests, there's not a single message I can make sense of.
BUT, like I'm sure everyone else on this list, I have my own areas of
knowledge and/or interest.

Come on down and say hello! Tell what interests you. Give your opinion
on some subject. Ask questions, and don't be shy about stating how you
need the answer framed ("no trig, please!").

JdL

On Fri, 8 Oct 1999, John A. deLaubenfels wrote:

> Someone recently pointed out that there are over 300 people on the
> tuning list, most of whom have never posted.
>
> I would like to issue an explicit invitation for everyone who has not
> done so to introduce themselves.

I've posted now and then. I'm a piano technician and early keyboard
person, clavichords a specialty, residing in Fall River Massachusetts. I
have a church job in Providence, RI. I am giving a highly experimental
solo concert a week from tomorrow, entirely music of Frederic Chopin on
the 150th anniversary of his death; it will me in a late 18th century
temperament ordinaire, but that's not the really experimental part, the
really experimental part is that it's on a 5-octave unfretted clavichord,
an instrument that was pretty obsolete by 1810, the year Chopin was born.

I've been on the list a couple of years, I delete most of the math and
all the irritable name-calling posts, as well as any posts which begin 'It
is intuitively obvious that....'

Judy

>From: Judith Conrad <jconrad@sunspot.tiac.net>
>I am giving a highly experimental
>solo concert a week from tomorrow, entirely music of Frederic Chopin on
>the 150th anniversary of his death; it will me in a late 18th century
>temperament ordinaire, but that's not the really experimental part, the
>really experimental part is that it's on a 5-octave unfretted clavichord,
>an instrument that was pretty obsolete by 1810, the year Chopin was born.

This is a very cool idea, Judy! Will you be making use of Bebung?

Recently when I was in a record store, bemoaning the dearth of recordings of
Bach harpsichord music *on the harpsichord*--and the comparative wealth of
recordings of these works on the piano (let's face it--Bach didn't own a
darned piano, and he only played on one a couple times toward the end of his
life), it dawned on me that someone needs to release a CD featuring 19th
century piano music played on the harpsichord....it would make such a wryly
subversive critique of the whole "Bach on a concert grand" thing. Of
course, the clavichord might be an even better choice, since that instrument
is at least capable of dynamics. The challenge then is merely to find
pieces that don't exceed the range of the instrument...well, AND to make the
music come off convincingly. :> Are you going to have to take any notes in
the Chopin works up or down an octave?

Dale Scott

On Sat, 9 Oct 1999, Dale Scott wrote:

> >From: Judith Conrad <jconrad@sunspot.tiac.net>
> >I am giving a highly experimental
> >solo concert a week from tomorrow, entirely music of Frederic Chopin in
> >temperament ordinaire, but that's not the really experimental part, the
> >really experimental part is that it's on a 5-octave unfretted clavichord,
> >an instrument that was pretty obsolete by 1810, the year Chopin was born.
>
> This is a very cool idea, Judy! Will you be making use of Bebung?

It is intuitively obvious that I will be making extensive use of Bebung,
which is the finger vibrato you can produce on a clavichord unlike any
other keyboard. Funny thing is I'm getting a fair amount of criticism from
the early music world for doing this -- some of them have such a sense
that 19th century music is evil and the enemy, they don't even want to
listen. The divide between music that can be attempted on the clavichord
and music that shouldn't, in my estimation, is music that is written for
in-house and small salon performing could be suitable, music written for a
concert hall isn't. But much of the early music world really wants the ego
trip from performing in large halls...

Yes, I'm doing quite a bit of moving around up and down octaves, which
doesn't sound a wrong as it might because the overtone structure of a
clavichord is so very different from a piano one doesn't even always
notice.

Info on location happily furnished on request -- and there'a party
afterwards.

Judy

>From: Judith Conrad <jconrad@sunspot.tiac.net>

>It is intuitively obvious that

Judy, I would have read this post, but when I saw how it began, I
automatically deleted it. ;>

Dale

>really experimental part is that it's on a 5-octave unfretted clavichord,
>an instrument that was pretty obsolete by 1810, the year Chopin was born.

Judith, I must be missing something or at least not understanding... I
thought a clavichord was a keyboard instrument. "Unfretted"?

Rick

Now that yahoo is letting me back onto the list page I can explain my proposal.

I am willing to host a message board that allows you to post files and then link to those files in this mailing list for the purpose of sharing your compositions or as an aid to explaining your particular microtonal example/theory/whatever you'd like.

I can' be crazy and allow public posting without rules or accountability. I tried that with SoOn and had porn posted on the message board within hours of removing the registration requirements - and this is when we were hardly known!

http://microforum.soonlabel.com/

I just installed this with fantastico last night in about an hour so its not perfect but all of the basics should be there.

I am doing this because I am interested in microtonal music, I have lots of space (a TB) and unlimited bandwidth - and even though SoOn is shoving gigabytes out the door each month I realistically can get more for my money.

Even people with whom I don't agree with on approach (Marcel for instance) are free to use this - this is not about me - this is about making the work of the list people who don't have resources easier. I presumably will reap benefits in the form of better tunings to use and deeper understanding of music in general.

(I was today disappointed to see Marcel's Beethoven mp3 was missing)

Your posts won't be there forever (nothing on the internet is) but I have the site paid till august and will soon be paying for another year.

My rules are simple and follow my hosting company's terms of service.
No porn, warez (even links!) or copyrighted material you don't have ownership or permission to post.

I'll keep this proposal out there for a week or so - if no one wants to use it I'm not going to bother offering hosting anymore due to being it a waste of everyone's time.

(People who are hosted at micro.soonlabel.com will continue to be regardless - this is just an easier way to do things because I'm eliminated from the posting process.)